Computer networking technologies have enabled a wide variety of applications such as, for example, Web surfing, e-mail, instant messaging and the like. One particularly promising and popular application is social networking. Social networking is conventionally internet based. Thus, anyone in the public can typically have some access to the social networking application.
Social networking typically allows people to share information about themselves with others. In one implementation, each social networking participant might have their own network site where they can post information about themselves. Some of this information might be available to anyone with access to the Internet-based social networking application.
Social networking allows for the formulation of a tighter network of friends, wherein each friend is permitted to have more information regarding the participant in the form of an event feed. Initially, the participant does not have an electronic social network of friends. To establish a social friends network, the participant must find other participants who are willing to become friends. The participant would then send an electronic invitation to an invitee to become the participant's friend. If the invitee accepts the invitation, then the invitee would be added to the participant's network of friends.
Conventionally, this friends network is reciprocal. For instance, if participant B were to receive and accept a friendship invitation from participant A, participant A would become part of participant B's friend network, and participant B would become part of participant A's friend network.
Someone in a participant's friend network may receive more information regarding that participant in the form of news or event feeds regarding others in that network. The participant themselves generates the event feed by interfacing directly with the social networking application. For instance, if the participant adds a new photograph, that event might be entered into the event feed. If the participant enters a travel log entry, that log entry might be entered into the event feed. There are a wide variety of other events that might be entered into the event feed, but the population of the event feed is largely, if now wholly, in response to participant activity.
Thus, social networking applications enable individuals to establish networks and keep others informed. Nevertheless, effort and mutual collaboration is required in order to formulate networks. Furthermore, a participant must attend to interfacing with the social networking application if the event feed regarding that participant is to be kept rich with information, and up-to-date.